My advice to all the eager businesswomen out there - get over it!
Professional women worth their salt would be appalled to be appointed to a board simply to even up a proclaimed gender tally. It's insulting. Board appointments should be based on skills, connections and suitability - gender has nothing to do with it.
The idea that having a female balance in a board environment will provide some sort of nurturing balance to the collective is to infer that this is the only role a woman is capable of providing.
The boardroom is not a preschool where we women are called upon to manage the bully, act as the steadying influence and create a "happy space" where everyone can "play nice".
It is a cut and thrust environment where decisions need to be made, people's delicate sensitivities, egos and petty grievances are not welcome and there is a job to be done.
We are constantly having statistics thrust in front of us loudly proclaiming that women are underrepresented in key professional positions, are under paid and continually overlooked on the professional stage. And somehow this is the fault of the men.
Well ladies, it’s time to take some responsibility. How can you complain that you are paid less than your male counterpart if you failed to negotiate a favourable package in the beginning, or indeed researched the role to determine what the correct package should be before accepting the role?
In order to succeed in business, to climb that corporate ladder, women need to understand that there is more to it than simply working hard.
It's about building relationships, developing strong mentors, being vocal and identifiable, knowing exactly where you want to go and most importantly - what you are prepared to sacrifice to get there. Complaining and comparing won’t cut it.
Stop complaining, stop comparing what you have to others, and start being the "mistress of your own destiny".
Stephanie Dale is Director and Managing Partner of the DMC Advertising Group.
